The Therapeutic Role in Later Life: Husbands, Wives and Couples

Abstract

The present study investigates the extent to which marital partners are different or similar in their ways of enacting the therapeutic, or supportive, role. Specifically, the article compares husbands and wives categorically as in non-dyadic studies and then as marital partners as in dyadic studies. In addition, this study, by using data from the Aging Couples Study, included only dual-earner couples so as to control for the effects of work life on marital relations. Results showed that studies of individual married men and women understate the differences between marital partners in that some wives "overbenefit" in the exchange of conjugal supports. However, husbands more often "overbenefit." Findings also indicated that the norm of reciprocity does not prevail regarding the extent of support, although it does for the types of support exchanged.

Subjective Well-Being Dynamics in Couples from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Aging

“…One possible reason for different spousal dynamics in old age compared to midlife may be that husbands are particularly affected by the kin-keeping and socially active roles of their wives in times when their own workrelated social networks and roles may be diminished because of retirement [33,34] . Another factor may be that, in line with theories of emotion regulation in late life [35] , husbands may feel closer to their wives after retirement and thereby be more susceptible to the often emotionally Subje ctive well-being was standardized to the T metric using the T1 ALSA couple sample (n = 632) as the reference.…”

The health and relationship dynamics of late-life couples: a systematic review of the literature

“…The characteristics of the small number of studies focusing on relationship dynamics are summarised in Table 1. These studies have highlighted the factors contributing to marital satisfaction, including notions of ‘successful’ marriages (Lauer, Lauer and Kerr 1990; Henry, Miller and Giarrusso 2005), the division of roles and marital equality (Keith, Schafer and Wacker 1992; Matras and Caiden 1994; Kulik 2002), and the provision of social support (Anderson, Earl and Longino 1997), all of which might change over time as couples negotiate shifting roles and expectations in line with transitions or illness.…”

“…The reviewed studies predominantly took a qualitative approach, enabling the subjective experiences of older couples to be heard. It should be pointed out that the scope and coverage of these studies was fairly limited, not least because the majority were carried out in North America with white, heterosexual couples (Lauer, Lauer and Kerr 1990; Keith, Schafer and Wacker 1992; Kaplan et al 1995; Gladstone 1995; Anderson, Earle and Longino 1997; Racher 2002; Henry, Miller and Giarrusso 2005). This systematic review did not identify any studies of the dynamics of non-traditional, late-life, couple relationships (such as non-heterosexual, de-facto or re-marriage relationships).…”

Effects of Gender and Employment Status on Support Provided to Caregivers

“…3 Research has documented remarkably consistent gender differences in the solicitation and receipt of emotional support among general population samples (e.g., Schuster, Kessler, & Aseltine, 1990;Turner & Marino, 1994). Although men are generally more likely than women to receive high levels of emotional support from their spouses (Akiyama, Elliott, & Antonucci, 1996;Anderson, Earle, & Longino, 1997;Lynch, 1998;Okun & Keith, 1998;Schuster et al, 1990;Turner & Marino, 1994; for exceptions, see Greenberger & O'Neil, 1993;Strain & Chappell, 1982), they are far less likely than women to receive this type of support from other individuals throughout the life course. In contrast, women and men do not usually differ in reported levels of informational and tangible support received from others (Burda, Vaux, & Schill, 1984).…”